Yog Raj Sharma
The North News
Shimla, August 1
The decision by the Himachal Pradesh government to revive lottery operations in the state has sparked sharp political backlash, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) calling it a “regressive step” that threatens to derail the future of unemployed youth. At a press briefing in Shimla, BJP state president Rajeev Bindal condemned the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government’s move, accusing it of exploiting financial distress among citizens. “While the world is progressing, the Congress government is pushing Himachal backwards towards a lottery economy,” he said.
Bindal asserted that both former chief ministers — the BJP’s Prem Kumar Dhumal and Congress’s Virbhadra Singh — had banned state lotteries due to their devastating social impact. “Now the same Congress is trying to trap youth with promises of jobs but is instead making them lottery sellers,” he added.
According to Bindal, several families were ruined during previous lottery schemes, prompting bipartisan consensus on discontinuing them. He warned that reviving lotteries for “petty profit” amounts to promoting addiction, not employment.
The BJP leader also raised concerns over alleged violations of regulations, claiming liquor shops have been opened illegally on National Highway and PWD land. He pointed to the government’s reported interest in cannabis legalisation as further evidence that it is “encouraging intoxicants.”
“The Sukhu government is deliberately fostering a culture of addiction. Whether it’s lotteries, liquor, or cannabis, they’re fuelling dependency rather than empowerment,” Bindal said.
He further accused the Congress of silencing dissenters by filing “false cases” against those who question the government. Referring to the flood-hit Siraj region in Mandi district, Bindal criticised the administration for booking citizens under the garb of flag-hoisting events instead of offering relief.
“Mandi is disaster-struck — the entire country sees it, but the Sukhu government is blind to the suffering,” he said, adding that the central government is extending full financial support while the state shirks its duties.
The BJP will hold a protest in Mandi on 6 August against the decision, Bindal announced. He also pledged that if the BJP returns to power, it will revoke the lottery policy and reopen health and education institutions that have reportedly been shut.
